Fly Past

A

formation of B-17 Flying

Fortresses encountered

Messerschmitt’s new rocket-

propelled Me 163B Komet

interceptor for the first time on

August 16, 1944. The American

crews were concerned that the little

aircraft were so fast they could not

be tracked by the turrets and waist

guns.

The German pilots, Leutnant

(Lt) Hartmut Ryll and Feldwebels

Herbert ‘Nicky’ Straznicky and

Siegfried Schübert of 1 Staffel,

Jagdgeschwader 400 (1/JG 400),

each claimed the destruction of a

B-17 near Brandis, east of Leipzig,

before P-51 Mustangs of the 359th

Fighter Group’s 370th Fighter

Squadron intervened.

Lt Col John B Murphy claimed the

destruction of one of the Komets

before helping 1st Lt Cyril Jones Jr

in shooting down another.

Ryll’s Me 163 exploded over Bad

Lausick. Strasnicky fell victim

to Sgt H Kaysen of the 305th

Bombardment Group, but baled out

successfully near Böhlen.

Three more ‘kills’, two again to

Schübert and one to Lt Hans Bott,

occurred in August 1944. Bott and

Schubert recorded another each

in September and then there were

just two more claims until March

3, 1945 when Oberleutnant (Oblt)

August Hachtel claimed two more

B-17s.

FIERY ARROW

Flt Lt Raymond Raby was flying

a Spitfire IX of 542 Squadron on

March 7, 1945 on a reconnaissance

sortie. Raby’s targets were Böhlen,

Mölbis, Rosnitz, Chemnitz and

Dresden. After covering the first

two, he was intercepted by two

Komets.

The unit’s Operations Record

Book (ORB) takes up the story:

“...he was intercepted by two Me

163s when over Rosnitz. He took

immediate evasive action and

eventually evaded at 6,000ft. He

then climbed up again to 20,000ft

but was forced to abandon rest of

sortie due to shortage of fuel...”

Nine days later saw a more

conclusive combat. Oblt Rolf ‘Bubi’

Glogner of 2/JG 400, together

with an unidentified pilot, took off

shortly after dawn to intercept a

Mosquito approaching Leipzig. This

was crewed by American Fg Off

Raymond Hays and Flt Sgt Morgan

Phillips of 544 Squadron.

In his book Rocket Fighter, Komet

pilot Mano Ziegler reported events:

“The next morning ‘Bubi’ Glogner

enjoyed better luck. A Mosquito

probably sent to take photographs

of the previous night’s bombing, was

approaching almost at the crack of

dawn.

“It was not a very clear morning

with large clumps of cloud hanging

between heaven and earth, but

Glogner was soon climbing away

like a fiery arrow. He lost sight of the

Mosquito and when he had reached

14,000m he had almost decided to

give up and turn back to base when

he spotted [it] once more far below

him.

“The [pilot] did not seem to have

noticed the Komet and was flying

sedately on, apparently unaware

that there was anything else in the

sky. Glogner put his aircraft into a

dive and overhauled the Mosquito

rapidly, but just before he could

get the intruder in his sights, the

Mosquito made a sharp turn and

went into a steep dive.

“Glogner had his hands full trying

to line up the rapidly moving target

in his gun sight. He put his nose

down sharply pulled up from a near

vertical dive and found himself

sitting almost on the Mosquito’s

tail. After three short bursts, the

Mosquito’s port engine belched fire

and smoke. Large pieces broke away

and both crew members baled out...”

The Distinguished Flying Cross

citation for Raymond Hays reads

as follows: “This officer was the

pilot of an aircraft detailed for a

reconnaissance covering the Leipzig

area in March 1945. Whilst over the

target, two enemy fighters attempted

to close in.

“Plt Off Hays took violent

evading action. Much height was

lost. At this stage another enemy

aircraft joined the fight. Hays

manoeuvred with great skill and,

although his aircraft was hit, he

succeeded in evading the attackers.

The starboard engine had been

badly damaged, but course was set

for home.

“Later, on the return flight, the

aircraft was attacked by another

fighter. Hays manoeuvred with

superb skill. Although the aircraft

sustained further damage and the

navigator was wounded, this pilot

succeeded in evading the fighter. He

afterwards flew to a landing ground

in Allied territory.”

Hays crash-landed his crippled

aircraft at Lille in France. Two weeks

later he and another navigator, Flt

Lt Donald South, were killed when

their Mosquito stalled on take-off

from Benson in Oxfordshire on

March 30, 1945.

BRINGING IT HOME

The unofficial dairy for Mustang-

equipped 165 Squadron, based at

Bentwaters, Suffolk, for April 10

reads: “Escort cover this day for 200

‘heavies’ to Leipzig. Another railway

station was hit. An Me 163 (the

little fat basket version of the jet) up

from Halle shot down one bomber

above the airfield and prepared

to dive for a second attack on the

formation...”

The target was a daylight attack

on the Engelsdorf and Mockau

railway yards by 134 Lancasters, 90

Halifaxes and six Mosquitos. The

diary of 165 Squadron wasn’t exactly

correct regarding the interception by

the sole German fighter.

The ORB for 405 Squadron

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF)

recorded: “In the target area,

immediately following release of

target indicators, Lancaster ME315

‘K’ was attacked by an Me 163.

“The attacking aircraft approached

from the rear and above and with

one burst completely shot away

the rear turret, rudder and elevator.

Damage was also caused to the H2S

[radar] set and mid-upper turret.

The rear gunner, Flt Lt Mellstrom,

was in his turret when the attack

commenced and is believed

killed...”

The body of 31-year-old Ft Lt

Melborn Mellstrom DFC was found

still in his turret near Engelsdorf

and today lies in the Berlin War

Cemetery. His family received his

DFC in November 1949 and a lake

in his native Alberta, Canada has

been named in his memory.

After this onslaught, Flt Lt

Campbell Mussells and the rest of

the crew of Lancaster ME315 had

a different fight on their hands.

The citation for the Distinguished

Service Order for Mussells explains:

“The rear turret and starboard

rudder were shot away. The port

rudder was smashed and both

elevators were badly damaged. The

aircraft dived away out of control.

“As Flt Lt Mussells fought to regain

control he found that the trimming

controls were useless. Nevertheless,

he succeeded in levelling out after

considerable height had been lost.

To keep the nose of the aircraft

up the control column had to be

lashed back. In circumstances of

the greatest difficulty, he flew the

crippled aircraft back to the UK.

“After crossing the English coast,

he ordered his crew to abandon

the aircraft and with the exception

of the mid-upper gunner who was

seriously wounded, they left by

parachute. [Mussells] flew on to the

nearest airfield with his wounded

comrade. With the control column

still lashed back and without the aid

of flaps, this officer showed superb

THE MIGHTY EIGHTH

48 FLYPAST April 2018

accurate shooting. Even from astern,

the approach was simply too rapid

to get the maximum effect from the

30mm cannon.

A ‘roller-coaster’ attack was

developed. The jets approached from

about three miles behind and about

6,000ft above. Entering a shallow

dive, they could fly through the

escorts with little risk of interception.

Just behind the bombers, they would

decelerate and then climb, putting

them in a perfect position to pick off

the rear elements of the formation.

Luftwaffe ace Johannes Steinhoff

of Jagdverband 44 amassed a total

of 176 aerial victories. He spoke of

his early days on Me 262s and the

difficulties in shooting down far

slower targets: “I passed one that

looked as if it was hanging in the air.

I am much faster. The one above me

went into a steep right-hand turn,

his pale blue underside standing out

against the purple sky.

“Another banked right in front

of the Me 262’s nose. There was

a violent jolt as I flew through the

airscrew’s eddies, maybe a wing’s

length away. That one was in a gentle

left-hand curve.

“Swing her around, I was coming

from underneath, eyes glued to the

sight. Pull her tighter. A throbbing

in the wings as my cannon pounded

briefly. Missed him. Way behind his

tail.

“It was exasperating. I would never

be able to shoot one down like this.

They were like a sack of fleas. A prick

of doubt: is this really such a good

fighter?”

Ultimately it was not aircraft

performance that ended the

Luftwaffe’s defence, but the difficulty

in obtaining sufficient numbers

of fighters. With the USAAF

successfully bombarding munitions

factories and supply lines, the potent

Me 262 jets were in short supply.

While many pilots, such as Steinhoff,

had immense experience, there

was little time to train newcomers.

Outnumbered and increasingly hard

pressed, the Luftwaffe was unable to

prevent Allied forces from achieving

their aims.

length away. That one was in a gentle

left-hand curve.

performance that ended the

Luftwaffe’s defence, but the difficulty

Above

Intense fl ak over a

southern European

target in late 1943. B-17s

and B-24s of the Eighth

Air Force fl ew a limited

number of night missions.

Right
Bombs gone, target hit;
but the formation still had
to run the gauntlet of fl ak
and patrolling fi ghters
awaiting them on the
homeward leg.
ALL VIA AUTHOR